Are you going to hear Director of MV Development, Randy Tsuda, at our lunch March 21? If so you might want to prep for lively Q&A by doing a little interesting background reading. Here’s what Randy’s been reading about housing & development and also what Sue Russell – our Affordable Housing Committee & Development Chair –  recommends as a reading list.

SUMMARY – HERE’S THE FULL LIST

Can Silicon Valley build its way out of a housing crisis? Silicon Valley Biz Journal (SVBJ)

If Silicon Valley traffic throttles the economy, can towers on train stations save it?  (SVBJ)

Affordable Housing Glossary .pdf     lwvlamv.org

Agenda for Change .pdf .    Spur.org

City needs more housing says balanced growth campaign leader  MV Voice

Council quiet on North Bayshore housing   MV Voice

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ABOUT THE READING LIST SOURCES

Randy Tsuda’s picks

Randy Tsuda recommended these two articles from the Silicon Valley Business Journal via Twitter in the past 10 days…

Can Silicon Valley build its way out of a housing crisis?

If Silicon Valley traffic throttles the economy, can towers on train stations save it?

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Housing Committee Chair Sue Russell’s picks

Check out Sue’s new, hot off the presses Affordable Housing Glossary .pdf on our website. It explains those pesky acronyms and esoteric terms as well as the how the various ordinances and legislation are implemented by city councils in Mountain View and Los Altos.

Sue Russell generally agrees with the planning and affordable housing approaches explained by SPUR.org in their easy to ready and well-illustrated Agenda for Change.pdf.

The Bay Area is in a time of tremendous change. We are the economic envy of the world, but we have huge challenges as well. Housing is too expensive. Inequality is on the rise. And we’re not prepared for the realities of climate change. Fortunately, there’s a lot we can do to solve the toughest problems our cities face. SPUR’s Agenda for change is our vision for the central cities of the Bay Area — our manifesto. It condenses the big ideas behind our work and lays out our seven-point plan for making this vision a reality.

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Picks from Mountain View Voice

 

City needs more housing says balanced growth campaign leader

This first article highlights the jobs-housing imbalance in Mountain View, which will be greatly exacerbated by literal implementation of parts of the City’s new General Plan. The General Plan allows a great expansion of office space, especially in the North Bayshore area, which is not matched by anticipated housing production.

Council quiet on North Bayshore housing

This second article explains that presently no housing is to be allowed in the North Bayshore area. This is happening at a time when rents in Mountain View are rapidly escalating and many long-time residents are being forced out, either because of high rents or because their dwellings are being torn down to make way for new luxury housing. Adding housing in North Bayshore will not solve all our housing woes, of course, so other policy changes are also needed.